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“Our goal is Cadillac against BMW -- very clearly. We will bring performance to these cars…and be on par or better than BMW.; That is our plan.”Those fighting words came from Karl Stracke, GM’s Vice President of Global Vehicle Engineering, who stopped by this week for a meet-and-greet and to check out the Motor Trend HQ in El Segundo, California.A mechanical engineer of German extraction, Stracke is the type of auto exec who makes auto journos happy and PR guys cringe. Five minutes into the nickel tour of our facilities and out of earshot of his PR handler, Stracke casually served up unprompted confirmation of the return of the Camaro Z/28. Not exactly breaking news -- while GM has yet to officially confirm it, the Z/28’s resurrection is something of an open secret -- but Stracke’s casual bomb dropping set the tone for the rest of his visit.We popped into our photo studio for a quick look around, but ended up staying on to watch a Hot Rod photo shoot, as you can see from my grainy cell phone pictures. Moments later in our company garage/tech center, he threw a leg over a racy MV Agusta crotch rocket, which instantly gave me empathy for his PR handler as the $18,500 motorcycle is on loan to our sister pub, Motorcyclist (sorry guys!). But hey, he’s a gear head through and through; Stracke owns a Harley-Davidson V-Rod and has a Corvette Grand Sport as his daily driver. The man likes 'em loud and/or fast and clearly has a passion for wheeled product.Between bites of lasagna at lunch, Stracke constantly asked us for feedback on his cars, and returned refreshingly blunt answers. He is outspoken; a bit like Lutz, but with a German accent. Since being promoted to VP of Global Vehicle Engineering in December of 2009, Stracke has already started stirring the pot, Maximum Bob-style. Earlier this month, in an incident reported in The Detroit News, Stracke soundly trashed the outgoing Chevy Cobalt with the statement, “Look at this car, it’s horrible. How did this get through so many people?”Stracke went on to shed bit more light on just how such vehicles can sometimes slip through the cracks when I brought up a topic we’ve moaned about here at Motor Trend – the Chevy Camaro's interior.When I quizzed him on two of the most galling parts of the Camaro cockpit -- the stale jelly donut-shaped shifter knob and oddly contoured steering wheel, Stracke didn’t strike the usual defensive posture of an auto exec, but nodded his head in agreement. He went on to say that, in addition, he found the steering wheel controls set too far inward, necessitating the removal of hands from the wheel or an awkward reach with the thumb. He claims to have fought to change this with the design team and his then bosses -- taking it all the way up (and out of his department) to guys like Lutz and Ed Welburn. But given the hugely popular response the concept Camaro received, Stracke said he was overruled and the product team was given marching orders to bring to make the production car as close to concept as possible -- with little regard for such practical tweaks.Stracke said that kind of mistake won’t happen again.; And that we’ll see hints of it starting with future models (hinting at the Z/28 again…) and when the all-new, Alpha-based (not Holden/Zeta) Camaro makes its debut.“We need to win,” he said repeatedly. “Not just shoot for the middle.”Our lunch topics ranged widely -- from A- and B-segment cars to trucks to Buick, Caddy, and the surging Chinese market.; We also got pretty nerdy -- which should provide relief to the tech types who think GM has lost its engineering way.Regarding his campaign to throttle BMW, Stracke says his performance division already has the technical firepower to easily put the Bavarians on notice. Unfortunately, some of those products and systems have been shuttered or shelved when GM was in the throes of bankruptcy, but Stracke is confident that even without them, Cadillac will prevail with an approach that relies on high technology and basics, like weight reduction.“We will be better than BMW on unsprung mass,” he claims.But it wasn’t all high-test, race-track talk either. Stracke spoke briefly about Buick’s resurgence; and how the company wants to grow the brand into a full lineup vehicles, starting with a compact sedan based on the same global architecture as the Cruze and a small crossover below the Enclave. He says Buick will slot in below Cadillac in terms of performance, but will be on par when it comes to NVH levels, etc. We also talked hybrid…tires?Yup. One of Stracke’s boldest, most esoteric claims during our whirlwind lunch was that the Chevy Volt’s Goodyear tires will be “the best on the market,” with a combination of the “lowest rolling resistance, best stopping distance and impressive ride quality.” Those who know tires, know that these characteristics are usually in direct conflict. Although we can’t say we’re as excited as Stracke is, we’re certainly curious to experience them for ourselves.The take-away message from Stracke’s visit to MTHQ is that the “New GM” no longer suffers from the problems of group think and buck passing that plagued the old GM.; Stracke is confident that GM’s coming products are on target and ready to blow away the competition.“We know what we need to do.; Good products…strong products…with the right powertrain.”Long time GM watchers and auto industry cynics might have a different view of Stracke’s outspokenness and New GM spin. After all, it’s not like he’s an industry outsider parachuting in to shake up The General.; Stracke joined GM’s Opel division in 1979 and his worked his way up ever since. But my gut instinct tells me that any time you have a Harley-riding, Corvette-driving, plain speaking instigator in charge of making cars go at GM, that’s a good thing.Good luck Karl.

Having driven the 2011 GT automtic, 3.31, and 3.73, and then the automatic and stick Camaro 2SS, I will probably pass on the GT500 and the Z28. Although I'm sure both are great, after having 3 Mustangs, I would likely opt for the 2SS Camaro when they redo the interior. In all honesty, as a senior citizen who drove his first Mustang 45 years ago, I like the ride, composure, Brembos all around, long wheelbase, IRS, and telescoping steering wheel of the Camaro. The Mustang was just a big "busy" ride with its short wheelbase and live axle, plus even with a $1700 option, Ford gives you front Brembos only, and small 11 inch brakes in the rear...not a good way to cut costs.

A friend of a friend of a friend, a very reliable friend, was sitting in a brand new Camaro Z28 with the CTS-V engine. Unfortunately he is not a car guy and could not tell whether it had an automatic or stick transmission. This event supposedly took place in the Oshawa factory, the only Camaro factory in the world. GM saved the world! It brought back the modern COPO!

the day cadillac is seen as better then bmw i honestly cant think of an expression to capture how insanely great thet would be (ive been sitting here thinking about it for at least 10 minutes haha) and also i cant wait for the alpha camaro because the camaro has it flaws but the mustang has been perfected it cant get much better the camaro however has so much room to get better

It's nice to see that they are starting to raise another aggressive car man into someone who will make product decisions. As someone who once worked under Karl Stracke, I can tell you he means everything he says, and now he has the means to take care of it. I've said for a long time to family and friends that when GM puts its mind to it, they can out engineer anyone. It's been a long time though since they've been so motivated to do it, but I think a lot of the new products we're seeing are proof to that. Just had to get the bean counters back in check...

On Memorial Day I saw a brand new Camaro Z28 driving down the road in Mission Viejo California. The car was blue with silver strips and was a beauty. They are already being made by Chevy and some are on the road in southern California.

True connermt. However, most buyers of such cars do so for bragging rights, including myself. 556 is better than 550. Next is the exhaust tone. American muscle machines emit glorious burbles, copied by AMG in a big way. How many old folks who can afford these cars will take them to the track? They will be used as crusiers like Harley Davidsons. So big horsepower numbers are essential. Look at Dodge and its rumored Challenger SRT 10 with 600 bhp. Tree huggers go and take a hike.

So many people worried about big HP numbers on here. There's more to the car than how big of numbers it can put down, especially if it's gonna' compete directly with BMW. I think GM can do it if they actually try to do it. They need to keep designs fresh, models limited on distinct platforms, ever increasing quality, and a good PR department.The guns are out of their holsters, now let's see what they are shootin'!

It reminds of when GM talks about Buick taking on lexus, which makes no sense, buick will never have a car comparable to the Lexus IS, GS, or LS, much the same way Caddy will never build anything to go up against the 7 or the Z4.

Make my Z-28 black with a red racing stripe down the middle all the way. This is more powerful than most Ferraris in the early 2000s!Americana at its best. Lots of horses for a fistful of dollars. Blue Oval and/or Bowties.

I do not have the numbers off by heart but before Ford declared the 102 pounds lighter wet sump GT engine in the 2011 Shelby GT 500 it was a few hundred pounds heavier than the Camaro SS. The 2010 Camaro is lighter than the 2010 Shelby for at least 2 reasons. The Camaro has an all aluminum engine while the Ford has an iron block. The Shelby has a supercharger sitting on top of the engine and the Camaro has nothing. I recall the 2010 Shelby weighs about 3,900 pounds which is heavier than an average V-6 engine E class Mercedes Benz.

In these days of Big Government Everywhere we have to get our big horsepower number muscle cars before tree huggers and their friends (Barrack O) lobby to ban them. No kidding - this conspiracy has been going on in the Republic of Canada for many years. As your politically correct author Patrick J. O'Rourke puts it (sorry PJ I am quoting you from my Alzheimer memory and after a few Millar Lights), the kill-joy police of government cannot let mere ignorant citizens have too much fun!

For me this new guy is a great man-if he can bring in the Z-28 Camaro with the CTS-V 556 bhp engine and 6L90E transmission this year. This combination will trounce the 2011 Ford Shelby GT 500 with the 550 bhp engine but no automatic transmission.

I like guys like this guy and Lutz. Ruess seems to be a similar type of person too. These are the type of people who know how to get stuff done and done right. They aren't afraid to admit mistakes and are truly passionate about automobiles. These are the type of people, the only type of people, who can save GM.

This guy is either completely full of it or he is a genius. Everything sounds good though some of you have mentioned the XTS, which sounds great, but I can't see a FWD based AWD vehicle truly competing with the 7 series. It will no doubt do fine against Lexus and Acura, and probably can even take some customers away from BMW and Benz, but unless it is RWD based I can't see it seriously competing with the performance of BMW. So while it's a great car that I'm excited about, I can't see it as truly living up to matching BMW.

It's funny how we all blame GM for not making world class luxury/sports cars when most of us can only afford the Cruze, 4 cylinder gas mileage variants of Buicks, etc. I love the idea of a 2.4 in a Buick. Why do you need to race around in a plush leather ride? Cadillac does have issues, but I'd take any Cadillac right now in a heartbeat if I could afford one. At least they are all distinct unlike the BMWs.

If they build the Cadillac XTS right, with all the bells and whistles standard, and all wheel drive, I would consider it over a used 07-10 Merc S Class or Audi A8L, BMW is not the benchmark anymore for anything other than a 3 series sized car.

Hopefully he gets his way with much of the products. GM needs people who don't settle for just good. The industry simply doesn't allow for this mentality anymore. Besides, the consumer is tired of GM promises and won't continue buying "just good" cars from them anymore.As far as his remarks on the Cobalt. I think such honesty about your products is revealing. I owned a Focus, but steered my mother into a new Cobalt when she wanted to look at a Focus too. She should have gotten the Focus. I pounded the crap out of mine and had no need for warranty work, other than wiper blades. Not so well for my mothers Cobalt which has had at least 6 visits for stupid things like rotors, shifter, and steering column and pump.Hopefully another motorhead in charge will actually get GM to be closer to the type of automotive juggernaut they once were.Now let's see the Camaro's crappy interior go, and upgrade the materials and look of the Silverado dash..... it screams cheap unless you have an LTZ model. Where are the designers with his enthusiasm?

i like his vision, but i don't think gm has changed that much. if he wants cadillac to compete with bmw, why have a fwd based flagship that looks like a stretched lacrosse with a cadillac grille? given gm's propensity for "small town" thinking, more than likely there will be a strictly fwd xtx model. i seriously doubt the xts will be exclusively awd. the xts would make a better flagship for buick. also, the lacrosse makes a dubious flagship considering there will be variant with the 2.4 engine. i have no problem with a 4 cylinder variant, but at least use the turbo engine that will be available in the regal. nothing screams premium than an engine that can be found in a malibu. gm is still up to its old tricks.cadillace: are we supposed to be impressed that it took gm decades to have a decent rwd car and finally introduce a coupe and wagon variant? the competition has done it for decades. it needs more models now; the xts, whatever see above. the 3.0 engine in the SRX is a dog, but at least it's selling; dts - very embarassing.buick: lacrosse as the senior model, not premium enough for a flagship; a cruze based compact - yikes, i'm worried considering the 4 cylinders in the cruze have gotten bad reviews, plus the cruz is ugly. it looks like an old ladies car; regal- if you want a new image for buick, why use a name that screams medicore. it would be better to use the opel name or another name from buick's past.chevy - cruze: it will fail, to weak and ugly; impala - way past it's sell by date.for gm to culitvate a new image, it really needs to ax the out of date models that your grandmother wouldn't drive.this man has good ideas, but it seems gm is still slow to respond. gm has spent decades making promises, but it generally fails to deliever. i don't see it changing anytime soon. good luck, gm. you'll need it.

I hope this Stracke isn't all talk. It would be great if the next gen Camaro didn't share chasis' with a sedan (I think the G8 and Monaro?). I don't know if that's the reason the Camaro is so heavy but it would be nice if it was designed as a sports car. Personally I don't care too much about the interior I just want the car to be an amazing drive. But if they fix the interior I wouldn't complain, and I'm sure it would appeal to more drivers.

Cadillac is obviously the only GM line that can compete with BMW. They just need more models. We've already seen what the CTS-V can do, it's just a tiny bit rough around the edges. Cannot WAIT for the Alpha Camaro!